Stamped Impressions
An Act against violence
Reeta Sharma

The Domestic Violence Act is obviously aimed to empower women in the country against any kind of physical violence, abuse, threat and any sense of insecurity with regard to a roof over her head. On the face of it, the Act appears to be ideal for Indian women. Women have been killed in their parents’ home in the name of family honour and subjected to violence in their matrimonial homes.

For centuries, male-dominated society advocated subjugation of women to uphold the man-made definition of Indian culture. In the name of tolerance and sacrifice, women were being brought up with the mindset that they should never raise a voice against their fathers, brothers and husbands even if they suffered ill-treatment at their hands. The Domestic Violence Act now enables women to legitimately seek protection against any such violence within their home. Under this Act, anyone above 18 (be it a male or a female member of the family) cannot physically beat or abuse or push or shove any women in her home.

It is not necessary for the victim to complain against such threats herself. In case she is not in a position to complain, any neighbour or family friend or an NGO can take note of the victim’s plight. Yet another significant feature of this Act is that the victim doesn’t have to go to the police station. A mere complaint is enough to impose a heavy fine and send the accused to jail. This Act is certainly far more lethal than the Anti-Dowry Act (498A). It may be recalled that the Anti-Dowry Act was also formulated to strengthen the position of women in their matrimonial homes.

Unfortunately there was such gross misuse of the Act that eventually the judiciary had to suggest amendments, the fate of which is yet not known.

The Domestic Violence Act runs a greater risk of misuse than the Anti-Dowry Act. The real victims of domestic violence may not have the courage to protest against their parents or matrimonial relations. The kind of social stigma Indian society attaches to a protesting daughter, sister and wife, one wonders how many women will come forward breaking these shackles to report against violence meted out to them. Many such women may even retract statements that they may have given in the heat of the moment when suffering from violence.

Women could also misuse the Act to teach a lesson to the men with whom their relationship could be crumbling on any ground other than violence. They could misuse this Act to extort money from vulnerable men. If this Act is heavily in favour of women, it is also blatantly against men. Very clearly the Act has been completely borrowed from the West.

In the West, you leave the family when you are 18. You are not bound by duties towards your family. However, in India even today the family bonding is strong. Leaving aside cases where children’s relationship has soured with their parents, by and large Indian families go through lives fulfilling their duty towards their loved ones. In such a scenario, this kind of Act is bound to make a major dent in the family ties that exist in India.

We have often heard that the institution of marriage is breaking in India, quite like the West. But the ground reality is that 70 per cent of India is made up of villages, where the institution is as strong as ever. In the rest of urban India, this institution undoubtedly is under great stress but it is not breaking at the pace that the West witnessed.

We need both the Domestic Violence Act and the Anti-Dowry Act as dowry and domestic violence are major social problems. However, we need a fair balance in its clauses so that both of them are used judiciously. In any case, no Act can eradicate evils like dowry and domestic violence. To counter such evils we need to make society more aware about its responsibility towards women. If gender bias is not removed from minds of the people, the evil of dowry will continue. Similarly, if men and women are not brought up in an atmosphere of equality, domestic violence will also continue. It is the mindset of people that needs to be treated through education, awareness and consciousness-raising.

Laws have not helped to save the women in the West from violence at homes. America has the largest number of cases of wife battering. Similarly, South Africa, France and the UK also suffer from violence against women in the four walls of home. The only difference is that the laws in the West get implemented to the core because the police and the judiciary there are not corrupt and they do not suffer from biases against women. In India, implementing such laws is an uphill task as our system suffers from corruption and has a prejudiced attitude towards women.